Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Indian Palaeography c15: 7. The Proto-Regional Scripts

Indian Palaeography c15

Language
English

Contents

7. The Proto-Regional Scripts

c15.1

*Definition*

c15.2

THE older palaeographers, such as Burgess, Fleet, Burnell, Bühler and others, have written of ‘Northern’ and ‘Southern’ alphabets from about A.D. 350. Bühler¹ notes nine important ‘common’ characteristics of the northern and five of the southern alphabets. These ‘common’ features are limited neither to the north nor to the south, and they are not coextensive with these two geographical divisions. The presence of the southern character in Malwa, north of the Vindhyas, and of the proto-Nāgarī script in the Rāshtrakūṭa records, south of the Vindhyas, has long been known. Similarly, the style of writing seen in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta is not found throughout North India, nor can we choose any particular style in the Peninsula and call it southern. On the other hand, this division leaves entirely out of account a most important group of inscriptions, which show a square head-mark (Pl. XV) and are confined to the Deccan and Eastern Malwa. The fundamental changes that were then going on in Gujarat and Kathiawad, a region which in the earlier period was closely associated with the southern characters, also remain unexplained. If these broad geographical divisions are set aside, it is not difficult to see the evolution of the characters from the writing styles traced in the last chapter. These styles tended to become localized and affiliated to the various cultural regions in the subcontinent. These regional styles might have differentiated still further but for two important factors which were instrumental in establishing a link between them and also in governing a uniform pattern in their development. The first was the use of a common language, Sanskrit, which helped in the easy movement of literates and scribes from one region to another and the quick dispersal of technical skill or styles of writing. The second was the growth of larger kingdoms, which by their very nature had to adopt a uniform style of writing within their jurisdiction. It is on such assumptions that we can understand how the Kauśāmbī style of writing of the second and third century A.D. gradually spread throughout the Middle Ganges Valley and as far east as Bengal after it was adopted by the early Guptas; but later, in the sixth and seventh century A.D., as a result of the growth of the power of Kanauj, this style was ousted and replaced by another style that spread from the western region. Such political changes retarded the growth of regional cultures and they had their effect on the style of writing as well. With the growth of 'national' (in the sense of regional) states in the subsequent period the regional scripts also emerged fully. They grew out of the differences noticed in the period ending roughly in the eighth century A.D. These different styles are termed here proto-regional scripts, as they can be best understood on the basis of regional cultures rather than of wide geographical divisions.

c15.3

¹ *Indian Palaeography*, Eng. tr. pp. 45 and 61.

Main Divisions

c15.s1.1

In order to understand the interrelationship of the proto-regional scripts they are grouped here under four main heads:

c15.s1.2

A. *Scripts of North India.* These show a uniform pattern of development both in the body of the letters and in the application of the medial vowels. The changes in ornamentation and technical adaptation affect all the scripts equally.

c15.s1.3

B. *Scripts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Central India.* There is a medley of scripts in these areas. The earlier influences of the south fade away and the northern influences come in, but at the same time we notice some independent developments.

c15.s1.4

C. *The Deccani scripts.* This name applies to those characters which have the square head-mark. It was widely adopted from Malwa to the southern kingdoms. The head-mark brings them under one group, but they are differentiated from one another by following the general styles of the regions where they were used.

c15.s1.5

D. *The scripts of South India.* There is also a general unity of development in these scripts. The shapes of the letters as well as the medial vowels follow a common pattern.

c15.s1.6

Under these four broad heads fall nine main geographical divisions which clearly emerge in the writing styles of this period, though there is some overlapping owing to political and other factors:

c15.s1.7

A I. *Middle Ganges Valley.* This region includes the greater portion of modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but excludes the westerly districts which border on Mathura. Its influence reached as far south as Orissa and the forest regions of the Vindhyan belt. Under the rule of the Imperial Guptas the style of this region was in great favour and it spread into Bengal in the east and Nepal in the north, and exerted considerable influence on the scripts of the westerly regions. The Mehrauli iron pillar inscription of Chandra¹ is entirely in this style, as also is the Udayagiri cave inscription (Fleet,² no. 6) of Chandra Gupta II. In the post-Gupta period the western styles overran this region and ultimately paved the way for the *Nāgarī* script.

c15.s1.8

¹ See below, p. 144.

c15.s1.9

² All references to Fleet are to his *C.I.I.* iii.

c15.s1.10

A II. *Eastern India.* This region properly includes Bengal, Assam and Orissa, but Orissa was already linked with the Middle Ganges Valley. Assam had no separate script of its own. The late inscriptions found there followed the style of Bengal. With Bengal is grouped Nepal, as the writing style of both these regions is derived from the Middle Ganges Valley and there are many remarkable links between the scripts of these two areas. Each of these will be treated as a sub-class—II (a) Bengal and II (b) Nepal. With the rise in the eighth century a.d. of the Pālas, who ruled over the delta as well as part of the Middle Ganges Valley, the regional style was modified under extraneous influences. The growth of proto-Bengali did not take place here until two centuries later. But certain tendencies that originated in this period led on to the growth of the later regional script.

c15.s1.11

A III. *Mathura and the north-western region.* Mathura had been the centre of a line of the Northern Kshatrapas and later of the Kushāṇas. Their important contribution to the development of Indian writing has been noted in the previous chapters. This Kushāṇa style of Mathura continued to influence the region in the Gupta period. Its influence is also marked in the Karamdanda inscription of Kumāra Gupta I and the Bhitari pillar inscription of Skanda Gupta.³ In the time of Harshavardhana this style merged with the Rajasthani style of writing and is represented in this region by the well-known Lakhamandal inscription on the Upper Jamuna.⁴ The ornamental features of this style appear to have originated from the eastern region, but it spread in the whole of the Gangetic Valley, where it led on to proto-Nāgarī, but in the hill states of the north-west, as evidenced from Kashmir and Chamba, the Mathura style continued, leading to the Śāradā script.

c15.s1.12

³ See below, pp. 122–3.

c15.s1.13

⁴ *Epigraphia Indica*, i. 10–15.

c15.s1.14

B IV. *The Rajasthani style.* With Rajasthan was intimately associated Malwa, which, because of its peculiar geographical position, was open to influences from the north as well as the south. The curled tails of the verticals and the side notches continued in the Gupta period, but towards the close of the sixth century A.D. a distinctive style developed which, along with the Mathura style, underwent a further change to become the precursor of the Nāgarī script. This region was the original homeland of Nāgarī, and it was from this source that the Rāshṭrakūṭas derived their proto-Nāgarī writing.

c15.s1.15

B V. *The Kathiawadi style.* This is a continuation of the writing style known from the inscriptions of the Western Kshatrapas. It is easily traceable in the Maitraka records and is intimately connected with the writing known from the inscriptions of the Traikūṭakas and the Gurjaras of Broach.

c15.s1.16

C VI. *The Deccani style.* This is found for the first time in the inscriptions of the Vākāṭakas, in the Eran pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta, and in the Udayagiri cave inscription of Chandra Gupta II (Fleet, no. 3). In the fifth century A.D. its influence was felt in the inscriptions of the Kadambas, the Gurjaras of Broach, the Western Chālukyas, and the Pallavas and the Madharas in Andhra. It survived in the inscriptions of the kings of Śarabhapura and those of the Eastern Gaṅgas to the end of the seventh century A.D. Its influence is also noticeable in the Bilsad inscription of Kumāra Gupta I. This style did not leave any trace in the later scripts.

c15.s1.17

D VII. *Mysore and Mahārāshṭra.* This style is a continuation of that known from later Śātavāhana records. Its most fully developed form is found in the inscriptions of the Chālukyas and the Rāshṭrakūṭas, by which time it had attained a distinctive character, to which the name of proto-Kannadi can be given.

c15.s1.18

D VIII. *Andhra.* The style known from the Ikshvāku records died an immediate death after their collapse. Only faintly is its character recognizable in a few inscriptions of the Bṛihatphalāyanas and the early Pallavas. Side by side with the Deccani influence we notice here a close similarity to the style known from the Chālukya inscriptions, especially after the establishment of the Eastern Chālukyan dynasty. This close similarity was maintained even after the regional scripts, Telugu and Kannada, were later evolved, but in this period the style had some relation to the writings of the extreme south.

c15.s1.19

D IX. *South India.* Not much evidence is available from the extreme south. The early inscriptions of the Pallavas show the long verticals of the Ikshvāku style and also give evidence of a technical tradition seen earlier in the Bhattiprolu inscriptions. The Sanskrit records are again divisible into two styles, one mainly found in inscriptions from the northern part of the region, showing influence from the Vākāṭaka and Chālukyan records, and the other occurring in southern inscriptions from Kāñchī, Trichinopoly, Annamalai, Mamallapuram, &c., which are all very late, and which display a new and special style showing great draftsmanship in the formation of the letters. This is the Grantha style of the seventh century a.d., but so far its earlier counterpart has not been found. In a few letters the influence of the north is traceable and in others we can discern the influence of the Deccani style. But the Grantha style must have had its precursor in this very region. It cannot be wholly derived from the north or the Deccan.

c15.s1.20

This division agrees almost entirely with what we learn from the account given by Alberuni,¹ provided we bear in mind that he describes conditions obtaining two centuries later. Out of the eleven scripts mentioned by him three, viz. Ardhanāgarī, Malwārī, and Saindhava, which were current in Bhatiya and Sindh, are hardly known to us, as no record from this region has so far been published. Three inscribed potsherds, which were recently discovered in the Bhambhor excavation in Sindh,² show a style approximating to Ardhanāgarī. One style, which Alberuni calls Bhaikshukī, used in Uduṇpur in Pūrvadeśa (possibly Audaṇḍapura, modern Bihar Sharif—a seat of an important Buddhist monastery), was probably a special writing used by the Buddhists, as he himself says. The remaining scripts, Siddhamātṛikā, Nāgara, Gaurī, Lārī (or Lāṭī, i.e. Kathiawadi), Karṇāṭa, Andhrī, and Dirwārī (i.e. Drāviḍī), are not difficult to recognize. Of these a little confusion arises between Siddhamātṛikā and Nāgara. The latter term is definitely derived from Varṇanāga,³ applied to a style of writing widely current in Malwa, as Alberuni rightly notes. Siddhamātṛikā, according to him, was current in Kashmir, Madhyadeśa (i.e. 'the region round Kanauj') and Vārāṇasī (Banaras), and must refer to the style termed by Fleet '*kuṭila*' and Bühler 'acute-angled', but by about tenth century A.D.¹ it was displaced by Nāgarī in the Ganges Valley and Śāradā in Kashmir. The use of the term 'Siddhamātṛikā' for the *kuṭila* writing is also confirmed by Ziogon's note on the script of the Horiuzi Palm-leaf MS.²

c15.s1.21

¹ *Alberuni’s India*, Eng. tr. by E. C. Sachau, London, 1910, i. 173.

c15.s1.22

² The potsherds were sent to me by the Director of Archæology, Pakistan, for decipherment.

c15.s1.23

³ Actually the phrase is ‘Varṇa-nāga-kṛipāṇikā’, because an extra *kṛipāṇa* (dagger) is placed on the *nāga* (serpent); see *Epigraphia Indica*, xxxi. 28.

c15.s1.24

¹ See Vogel, *Antiquities of Chamba*, for the presence of *kuṭila* character in Chamba.

c15.s1.25

² Max Müller and B. Nanjo, *The Ancient Palm Leaves* (Horiuzi Palm-leaf MS.); *Anecdota Oxoniensia*, vol. i, pt. iii, Oxford, 1884, pp. 14 and 16.

c15.s1.26

*New techniques*

c15.s1.27

This development of the alphabets reached its culmination later, when the regional languages developed and they became associated with one or the other script. That stage was a long way ahead. This chapter is concerned only with the process of change that the letters were undergoing at this period. This will be analysed, as in the last chapter, on the basis of three noticeable stylistic tendencies. The first was the result of a technical development, either in the use of new tools or in the new manner of using the old tools; the second was due to the taste for better or ornamental forms; and the third was dictated by a desire for speed and simplification, which is the real motive in cursive writing.

c15.s1.28

(i) *Technical*. Two different types of tools were used for writing and these had a marked influence on the shape of the letters. As we have seen, the pen was used throughout North India. The use of the pen gave three important characteristics to the letter-forms: (*a*) a definite head-mark to the letters of the north. It assumed the shape of a solid triangle, called by earlier palaeographers 'wedge' or 'nail-head'. (*b*) From the fifth century A.D. onwards the pen leaves behind a blot at the foot of the verticals, which gradually begins to grow and, as shown in Fig. 11, new forms of the letters are evolved. In some cases this blot develops a tail as in *da* and *ra*, and in some, as in *bha* and *sa*, it grows into a triangle and later opens its mouth. This blot will be henceforward referred to as the foot-mark. (*c*) From the sixth century there is noticeable a peculiar twist of the pen which makes an interplay of thick and thin lines in the ornate medial vowels (Fig. 12). The same tendency led to the origin of the *kuṭila* letters (Fig. 13). The use of the pen in the north was mainly responsible for the new shapes which so fundamentally differed from the southern characters.¹

c15.s1.29

¹ See Pattadakal pillar inscription of the Chālukyan king Kīrtivarman II, *c.* A.D. 747–57, which gives the same inscription in the two characters, northern and southern; *Epigraphia Indica*, iii. 4–6.

c15.s1.30

About this time writing in the south shows the growing influence of the stylus, as a result of which the letters become more rounded

c15.s1.31

[Figure: EVOLUTION BY THE PEN TECHNIQUE FIG. 11]

c15.s1.32

and have waves on their arms, as shown in Fig. 14. These waves are probably due to the nature of the palm-leaf on which stylus was used—a style developing from this source affecting the inscriptions as well.

c15.s1.33

(ii) *Taste for ornamentation.* Different kinds of ornamentation are noticeable in different regions. Their details will be discussed when the individual palaeography is taken up. Generally speaking, the embellishment is seen in the shapes of the letters (Figs. 13, 15) and in the formation of the medial vowels (Figs. 12, 16). This development is again seen in the formation of the lines in the respective scripts, as dictated by the pen and the stylus. Both in the north and the south the medial vowels are the first to show flourishes. The best examples from the north are seen in the Bilsad inscription and the Mehrauli pillar inscription, both of the fifth century (Fig. 12). In the sixth century, as illustrated in the inscriptions of Yaśodharman and Mahānāman, the medial vowels grow to their full extent. In the seventh century the flourish is further embellished by floral decoration (not shown in the plate). From

c15.s1.34

[Figure: MEDIAL VOWELS IN NORTH INDIA FIG. 12]

c15.s1.35

the last quarter of the sixth century A.D. another tendency is marked in the North Indian inscriptions. The right vertical limbs of the letters become slightly bent inwards (*kuṭila*), and hence Fleet's term *kuṭila* alphabet. At the same time, because of this bending, this vertical makes an acute angle with the base line, and hence Bühler's term 'acute-angled' alphabet. Bühler realized correctly that this acute angle is found much earlier than the *kuṭila* tendency and hence he traced this type of writing back to the fifth century A.D. But such a tendency can be seen in letters such as *sa* even earlier. Thus it is very difficult to adhere to Bühler's term. Fleet's term, though derived from a late inscription,¹ if understood to imply the style of writing which shows ornamental forms with

c15.s1.36

¹ Dewal inscription of (Vikrama) year 1049. See Cunningham, *A.S.R.*, i. 355, pl. LI.

c15.s1.37

[Figure: ORNAMENTAL EVOLUTION IN THE NORTH FIG. 13]

c15.s1.38

their right limbs slightly bent, may be retained, as it conveys a chronological sense. This style survives the end of the period dealt with in this chapter.

c15.s1.39

In South India embellishment is seen in the upper (in the case of *la*) and lower (in the case of *a*, *ka*, *ta*, and *ra*) curves of the letters (Fig. 15). In the earliest Pallava, Bṛihatphalāyana, and Kadamba² records of the fourth century a.d. the verticals are unusually prolonged downwards, probably from the influence of the Ikshvāku records, but later the normal length is restored. In the seventh century A.D. the curves grow either almost into a circle, as in the

c15.s1.40

² Chandravalli inscription of Mayūraśarman, *An. Rep. of Mysore Archaeological Survey*, 1929, p. 50, pl. XI.

c15.s1.41

[Figure: EVOLUTION BY THE STYLUS TECHNIQUE FIG. 14]

c15.s1.42

case of *a* and *la*, or into double parallel lines, as in the case of *ka* and *ra*. The medial vowels in the south follow also a different course of development (Fig. 16). Fundamental differences from the north are seen in the case of *au* and *ṛi*. The medial vowel *o* in *lo* is cursive. The right limb of *ā* is prolonged downwards as is *e* on the left side of the letters. The most important development is seen in the application of the medial vowels *e* and *ai*. Unlike the North Indian fashion, where they are applied above the letter, in South India the signs hang downwards, in some cases starting from the middle of the letter. This tendency comes down from the practice seen in the letters *mā* and *me* in the Girnar version of the Aśokan R.E.¹ The medial *i* grows into a full circle, but optionally in the extreme south it retains the form of a broad half circle. The medial *ī* has an additional line, curl, or circle to distinguish it from the medial *i*. The curl of the medial *u* grows until in the seventh century A.D. it is doubled. For medial *ū* an additional mark is given either on the right or on the left of the sign for the medial *u*. Another rounded form, as seen in *bhu* or *bhū*, also develops in the south.

c15.s1.43

¹ See above, p. 47.

c15.s1.44

[Figure: (a) ORNAMENTAL EVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH
(b) FORMS OF OM FIG. 15]

c15.s1.45

(iii) *Tendency to simplification.* This tendency is seen throughout and writers adopt it whenever they prefer and whatever their writing material. It would be wrong to say that the simplified style was usually adopted in the case of copper plates or manuscripts. The two copper plates of Harshavardhana (Fig. 12) are in two different styles—the Banskhera plate in the ornate style and the Madhuban plate in the simplified style. The Sonpat seal of Harshavardhana (Fleet, no. 52) is in the ornate style, but the Asirgadh seal of the Maukhari Śarvavarman (Fleet, no. 47) is in the simplified style. The two Bodhgaya inscriptions again illustrate this point, which was realized even by Rudolf Hoernle when he wrote that some parts of the Bower MS. are in an ornate style and others are written in a slovenly manner.¹ Here the writing material cannot have been responsible for differences in the style of writing. A tendency to simplification is to be found in the hands of some writers but not of others. Wherever it is traceable, it can be seen to follow the ornate or complicated way of writing, or at least the accepted form already achieved by a particular technical process,

c15.s1.46

¹ *Indian Antiquary*, xxi. 30.

c15.s1.47

FIG. 16

c15.s1.48

the desire being to reduce the time taken in producing the complex form without sacrificing its individuality. This description applies only to simplified as distinguished from cursive writing, and I confine myself to the former because I have so far found no true example of early Indian cursive writing,¹ be it on copper plate, stone, palm-leaf, or birch-bark. It is not possible to understand the whole process of simplification as no cursive writing is available for comparison. What I am trying to do is to determine the adoption of the particular simplified forms in the usual course of writing and to find as far as possible the time when they became current. From the available material we can get only a few clues to elucidate

c15.s1.49

¹ I reserve the term ‘cursive writing’ for quick hand-written documents in which the letters of the same words grow tails and are connected together. This is not the case in any of the manuscripts discovered so far. Hence we are not faced with problems connected with cursive writing though we have, of course, cursive forms as a result of simplification.

c15.s1.50

[Figure: EVOLUTION BY SIMPLIFICATION FIG. 17]

c15.s1.51

the way in which simplified writing was gradually developing. This is best illustrated in the development of the forms *a* and *la* in South India (Fig. 17). This simplification much affects the conjuncts, in which either the first (as in the case of *ṇḍa*), or the second (as in the case of *jña*), letter is reduced. The same is the case when the second element of the conjunct is *ya* or *ra*. In these conjuncts the writer neglected the rule of grammar, which requires the first element of the conjunct to lose its inherent short vowel *a*, and hence become constricted, in order to combine with the second element. He was influenced solely by the motive of facile writing. It is this same tendency which reduces the triangular head-mark to a simple horizontal line, as in the Indor plate of Skanda Gupta and in the series of Damodarpur copper plates. Another feature is noticeable in the inscriptions of the north-western region, where the triangular foot-mark of *ra* gives place to a simple slant. The simplification also affects the medial vowels, in which the ornate forms give place to straightforward lines. Later still the bent (*kuṭila*) right limbs of the letters in the north become straightened but leave a tail behind—a feature of most of the North Indian letters. This tendency is to be found in its final stage in this period. It is fully marked in the development of the regional scripts of the next period. In fact the preference for simplification in one or another way is one of the important factors contributing to the differentiation in the regional scripts. We are not concerned with this process in this chapter, which deals mainly with (i) the writing style that a particular region inherited in the fourth century a.d., (ii) inter-regional influences due to the setting-up of new kingdoms or the movement of the scribes, (iii) the change due to the technical development in the ordinary forms of the letters and in ornamental tastes, and (iv) the full ornamental letters or their simplified forms.

c15.s1.52

*New symbols*

c15.s1.53

The most conspicuous symbol in the copper plates of this period is that which stands for the auspicious sound *oṁ*, the various forms of which are given in Fig. 15*b*. It will be seen that in North India it generally assumes the form of a curled head with a tail either to the left, right, or bottom. In South India this tail is generally spiral. Another development is seen in the case of a final consonant used without any vowel. The usual practice was to write the final consonant in smaller size slightly below the usual line. In this period we see the use of an arc-like mark over the consonant, or a slanting mark attached to the right foot of the consonant in order to indicate that the vowel is absent. This last practice is the real source of the modern *halanta* (i.e. consonant without vowel). The use of the *jihvāmūlīya* and the *upadhmānīya* has been noted in the last chapter, and the forms given there were usually adopted in North India. In the south slight variations are seen, and these will be discussed in the relevant sections. The cross-form of *ṛi* noticed in the last chapter curves the arms of the cross in one type, while in the other type the left curves are separated from those of the right and joined by a bar, and the upper left curve optionally has a line head-mark. These forms are found in the Bower MS. In the Horiuzi MS. only the simplified type of the second form is seen. In this case the right curve is straightened, and the form comes closer to that of the Nāgarī letter. The initial *ṛi* is formed by adding a slant to the foot of the right limb. A new letter *ḷi* is also met in the last manuscript. It consists of a fish-hook upside down with the hook turned to the left. The initial *l̥ī* is formed by adding a curved slant to the vertical of the first.

A I. The Middle Ganges Valley

c15.s2.1

The palaeography of this region falls into the following chronological categories:

c15.s2.2

(*a*) Fourth century A.D. (Pl. X. 1).¹ The typical example of this period is the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta. It has been fully described in the last chapter.²

c15.s2.3

¹ For the list of the inscriptions and references see Bibliography at the end of the chapter, p. 204.

c15.s2.4

² See above, p. 102.

c15.s2.5

(*b*) Fifth century A.D. Two varieties are seen in this period:

c15.s2.6

(i) Pl. X. 2 is taken from the Karamdanda inscription of Kumāra Gupta I and the Bhitari pillar inscription of Skanda Gupta, both the inscriptions showing influence from the Mathura region. The letters have distinct head-marks, which are either notched or triangular. Of the initial vowels a fundamental change is seen in the forms of *a* and *ā*. The left limb hangs down from the triangular head and ends in a hook open to the left, instead of a curve to the right as seen in the Allahabad inscription. The middle bar joining the two limbs is generally horizontal. The long *ā* has an additional hook attached to the right limb. These forms are the real basis from which the later developments in North India took place. They are also found in the early fifth-century inscriptions of Malwa and Rajasthan.³ Henceforward this form will be called the curved *a*. The form of *i* with a vertical and two dots on the left, as seen in the Allahabad inscription, continued here, but optionally at Bhitari we have the older form consisting of three dots—a practice also seen in the Mathura region. *U* shows a definite influence from Mathura in the bending of the horizontal tip—a practice already noticed in the inscriptions of the Kushāṇa period. No other initial vowels are seen here. In the case of the medial vowels the Mathura style of the Kushāṇa period is usually followed. Both medial *ā* and *e* are top slants, but in the case of *hā* the local style of the horizontal mark is kept. The medial *o* is made of two top curved slants, one going to the left and the other to the right, while a vertical mark is added to them to make the medial *au*. The medial *ai* has two top slants going to the left. The medial *i* has a curve to the left while the medial *ī* has it on the right with a prominent initial mark recalling the two verticals of earlier times. The medial *u* curves its horizontal downwards, except in letters such as *thu*, *pu*, *mu*, *nu*, and *su*, in which the old practice of prolonging the right vertical continued. The medial *ū* has either an additional curved mark or a horizontal mark with bent tip attached to the right or left of the vertical. The medial *ṛi* curves its horizontal mark to the right.

c15.s2.7

³ See below, p. 156.

c15.s2.8

As in the Allahabad inscription the right limbs of *ga*, *ta*, *bha*, and *śa* are longer than the left. The middle bar of *ka* is curved, while *kha* and *ga* have straight tops. The left vertical of *gha* still retains a slight curve. *Cha* is of the beaked form, while *chha* has the left loop smaller than the right. The lower limb of *ja* slightly bends down. *Ṇa* is of the open-mouthed variety, as seen in the Allahabad inscription. The old form of *tha*, a circle with a dot, is no longer found in this region. It is changed into an oval with a mid-line—a form only used optionally in the Allahabad inscription. *Da* has its curve open to the right, while *dha* has a straight top with its lower portion narrowing to a point. *Na* is of the looped variety as seen in the Allahabad inscription. *Pa* still retains the slight curve. *Bha* is of the angular variety. *Ya* has a loop at the left limb and is of the tripartite form, but optionally has its base divided into a slanting right half and rounded left half. *Ra* is a straight vertical and *va* is triangular. *Śa* has a rounded top while *sha* has a full length mid-line.

c15.s2.9

Important differences from the Kauśāmbī style are seen in the forms of *ma*, which optionally has the half circle in place of the tail, found only in the Mathura region;¹ *la* and *ha*, which do not show the cursive hooked varieties of Kauśāmbī but have the three-limbed form with a firm base; and *sa* which has the older form with a hook on the left side in place of the looped variety of the Kauśāmbī style. All these forms are known in the Mathura region. Among the conjuncts we notice *ṅgi* and *ñchi*, the latter showing the cursive form of *ña*.

c15.s2.10

¹ See below, p. 143.

c15.s2.11

(ii) Pl. X. 3 is taken from the remaining inscriptions of Kumāra Gupta I, Skanda Gupta, and their successors, all of this period and found in this region. The plate is mainly based on the Bihar and Kahaum inscriptions of Skanda Gupta. This group of inscriptions carries the Kauśāmbī style further. The head-mark is distinctly triangular, though in a few cases it seems to be only notched. The initial vowels are of the same type as described in the above group (*b*) (i). We also find here the form of *e* which is triangular with its base at the bottom. The medial vowels follow the styles of both the Allahabad inscription and the Kushāṇa records. But specially noticeable is the form of medial *ā* in *dhā*, which is a curved sign attached to the middle of the right limb—a feature that recalls the practice of the eastern region. The medial *ṛi* now has a proper hook turned to the right. The medial *u* curves upward in the case of *gu* (optionally), *du*, and *bhu* (optionally). In the consonants the lower tips of the verticals show a faint trace of thickening, recalling the tendency to cursive flourish associated with the pen style. Other important developments from the style of the Allahabad inscription are seen in the greater use of the flat-topped *ga*, the straightening of the curved limb of *gha*, *pa*, and *sha*, the preference for *tha* with a mid-line within the oval form, *dha* with its lower end narrowed, the angular *bha* with a triangular head at the left limb, and the looped *sa* with an acute angle at the right limb. It should be noted that the oval *tha* is vertical when used singly and horizontal when used in a conjunct such as *sthā*.

c15.s2.12

(*c*) Sixth century a.d. (Pl. X. 4, 5, 6). No. 4 is taken from the inscriptions of the Maukharis of Magadha. No. 5 is derived from the Amauna inscription, dated in the (Gupta?) year 232, and no. 6 from the Haraha stone inscription of the Maukhari ruler Iśānavarman, dated in the (Vikrama) year 611. There is a definite change in the palaeography of this period, as attested by the new types of the initial vowels and the use of ornamental medial vowels. If the forms of the initial vowels can be relied upon, this influence can be traced from the region of Malwa. The new changes can be studied under three heads.

c15.s2.13

(i) *The general characteristics.* The head-mark in the inscriptions of the Magadha Maukharis is a thick line, in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis a solid triangle, and in the Amauna inscription a simple line. In all these inscriptions, except in the Amauna, the lower tips of the verticals show definite traces of the foot-mark.

c15.s2.14

(ii) *The new types of the medial vowels.* The important change in the medial vowels is seen in the use of the ornamental forms, as given above. Here the pen style is clearly marked, not only in the thick and thin lines but also in the long flourishes either at the top of the letters or at the sides. The general forms are taken from both the Kushāṇa and the local systems. In the Kushāṇa style the slanting strokes of *ā* and *e* or the curved forms of *i* and *ī* lend themselves to easy flourishes. A special form is the twisted stroke of *e*, which is first seen in the eastern region¹ as early as the Susunia rock inscription of Chandravarman. The ornamentation in the inscriptions of the Magadha Maukharis is not so prominent. It should also be remembered that the simpler forms persist optionally. In the Amauna inscription only the simpler forms are found. The special curled form of the medial *ī* is to be seen in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis.

c15.s2.15

¹ See below, p. 130.

c15.s2.16.1

(iii) *The development of new forms.* In the initial vowels there appear altogether new forms of *i* and *e*. The initial *i* has two dots at the top and a third lower one with a curved tail, but very occasionally has two dots below with a top line. The first form becomes henceforward the standard type in this region. The initial *e* has the base of the triangle at the top and the head below, and its left arm slightly curves to meet the point. This form leads on to the modern Nāgarī *e*. Development is also seen in the form of *a*, where the lower hook at the left limb projects its two arms beyond the vertical line. The lower curve of the initial *u* is further prolonged. But in the Amauna inscription the old form of *a*, seen in the Allahabad inscription, persists. Of the consonants, *kha*, *ga*, and *śa* have flat tops, though in the Amauna inscription rounded tops are retained. *Gha* undergoes a fundamental change by the division of its base into two halves—the straight right half meeting the upright at an acute angle and the left half curving with the left upright. This form paves the way for the North India *gha* of modern times. *Ja* bends its lower limb still farther. The upper arm of the half-circle *ṭa* is flattened. *Ḍa* also slightly bends the lower leg. *Ṇa* henceforward has the open-mouthed form of the Kauśāmbī style, but the loop seen in the Gupta period is no longer found.

c15.s2.16.2

Another development is seen in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis, where the base slightly slopes to the right and the outer curves are slightly prolonged. *Tha* henceforward copies the form of *dha* with an additional mid-line. *Da* has a double curve meeting at a point, the upper curve opening to the left and the lower to the right, the tip of the last being turned up. This form will henceforward be called the double-curved *da*. The looped *na* is found here, but in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis this loop develops into a head and is joined by a bar to the right vertical. No change is seen in the forms of *pa*, *pha*, *ba*, and *ma*, except that at Amauna the old open-mouthed form of *ma* persists. *Bha* has developed a triangular head at the bottom of the left limb, but the old triangular form of *bha* is seen at Amauna. *Ya* has three types: the first is the tripartite form with an inner loop at the left limb and the base divided into a straight right half and a curved left half—a development from the Kushāṇa type; the second has an outward curl at the left limb instead of the loop, a type also seen in the eastern region; and the third is the hooked *ya* (henceforward called bipartite *ya*), seen earlier as a subscript. That it is adapted from the old form, and not a new invention, is clearly observable in the varying forms of the same type in the Haraha inscription of Īśānavarman.

c15.s2.16.3

The new development made in this hooked *ya* is in drawing the right limb, which now becomes straight and meets the base at an acute angle. *Ra* shows prominently the foot-mark in the form of a triangle. The hooked forms of *la* and *ha* known in the Gupta period are no longer followed. The western forms with a firm base-line are used. In the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis the base of *la* slants upward, while the hook of *ha* is pulled down. In these inscriptions the old form of *sa* with a hook at the left is used optionally, but usually the looped *sa* is found, with the only change that the loop tends now to become triangular. Again the triangular form of *va* shows a development in the inscriptions of the Kanauj Maukharis. This triangle optionally turns into a round form but keeps the right arm straight. This will be henceforward called the rounded *va*. *Śa* generally has a flat top with a triangular foot-mark at the left limb. At Amauna the round-top form is seen and here the mid-line stops half-way. On the whole the forms clearly show that the Magadha Maukharis were earlier in date than the Kanauj Maukharis. Another point which is clear is the introduction of the new forms from the Malwa region, and it is not unlikely that these Maukharis originally came from Malwa, where they are known earlier from the Yūpa inscriptions.¹ (*d*) The last quarter of the sixth and the seventh century A.D. (Pl. X. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). No.

c15.s2.16.4

7 is taken from the Bodhgaya inscription of Mahānāman, dated in the (Gupta) year 269; no. 8 mainly from the Banskhera copper plate of Harshavardhana; no. 9 from the spurious Gaya copper plate of Samudra Gupta; no. 10 from the Aphsaḍ inscription of Ādityasena; and no. 11 from the Deobarnark inscription of Jīvitagupta. All these inscriptions, except no. 9 (which is a simplified version but crudely drawn), show ornamental medial vowels and the *kuṭila* (bent right vertical) form of the letters. The inscription of Mahānāman marks the beginning of this style of writing in this region. This style is a further step from the writing seen in (*c*) above.

c15.s2.17

¹ See above, p. 92.

c15.s2.18

Of these inscriptions the Banskhera plate is the most ornamental. The development is seen in extending the curve at the left limb of the initial *a*, the bottom tail in *i*, and the lower bend in *u*. In the inscriptions of Harshavardhana the tail of *i* is turned to the left, instead of the usual right, and *e* shows a notch at the top line. In the Aphsad inscription the unusual form of *e* with a top stem, also known in Bengal but more common in the Western Deccan,¹ is seen. The spurious plates of Samudra Gupta show simpler forms of *a* and *e*. The medial vowels are all ornamental as seen in (*c*) above.

c15.s2.19

¹ See below, p. 166.

c15.s2.20

Marked evolution is noticeable in the consonants. *Ka* retains the old form with the curved middle bar in *kra*, *kṛi*, and sometimes in conjuncts, but is usually seen in the new form with the curve on the left of the vertical growing into a triangular loop and the right curve developing a downward tick, which in due course lengthens into a bent vertical. We shall henceforward use two terms, the looped *ka* for the first and the *kuṭila ka* for the second. The flat-topped *kha* prominently shows the triangular foot-mark at the left limb, and the right limb has the hollow triangle on the inside of the letter. Sometimes the angles of this triangle are rounded. In the spurious Gaya plate this triangle is at the outer side of the right limb and here it opens its mouth, as in the inscriptions of the Pālas of Bengal.² *Ga* has both flat and round tops, the latter gradually merging with the *kuṭila* form of the right limb. In *gha* the acute-angled side is lowered and the curved side slightly raised. *Cha* is still of the beaked type, but is drawn in an ornamental style. *Ja* merges the uppermost arm with the head-mark, the middle arm is curved downwards, and the lowest bends into a hook, the whole giving a new look to the form. *Jha* still maintains the old form, with only this difference, that the middle bar slopes down to make an acute angle with the right limb. There is no change in *ṭa* and *ṭha*, but *ḍa* reduces considerably the length of its lower leg and its back is slightly rounded. The base of *ṇa* is slanted and the outer arms prolonged, but the two inner uprights come closer, and in conjuncts such as *ṇḍa* they actually merge together and form a tooth in the cursive type. In *tha* and *dha* the left curve slopes down beautifully to meet the bent vertical at the narrow end. Henceforward these will be called the bulged forms. The mid-bar of *tha* gradually shifts upwards. The double-curved *da* now has a tick at the tip of its lower curve. The head-form of *na*, as seen before, is now well established, but the right vertical now shows *kuṭila* features. *Pa* rounds its left corner and lowers its right vertical to meet at an acute angle with the base. Only in the inscriptions of Harshavardhana is its ornamental form to be seen. It is from this time onwards that the separate sign for *ba* is dropped and only *va* is used for both the consonants. The triangular foot-mark in the left limb of *bha* now grows in importance, displacing the left limb itself, but the right is further lengthened. In the Deobarnark inscription the triangle is open. The tail of *ma* disappears and a loop develops at this point, while the base slopes down to meet the right vertical at an acute angle. *Ya* is of the bipartite form with the right vertical bent, but the Bodhgaya inscription of Mahānāman still optionally has the left loop in the tripartite form. *Ra* develops a tail at the foot-mark. The base of *la* curves upwards, with its left hook developing a beautiful inner bend. The rounded *va* with the right vertical forming a tail is also seen here. The flat-topped *śa* takes on a new form in the inscriptions of the later Guptas. Here the top of the left limb curls into a loop and is then finally joined with the right limb. *Sha* follows the form of *pa* with an additional mid-line. *Sa* with the triangular loop, as seen before, is adopted here. Only as an optional usage is the type with the left hook seen in the Bodhgaya inscription and the spurious Gaya plate. In the inscriptions of the later Guptas this triangle opens. The base of *ha* curves and dips its angle at the right. In the late inscriptions a tail develops at this point, while the hook on the right falls in a graceful bend.

c15.s2.21

² See below, p. 135.

c15.s2.22

It may be noted that in the inscriptions of Mahānāman the *kuṭila* forms are not uniformly followed. They are invariably found in the inscriptions of Harshavardhana. The spurious Gaya plate is nearer in date to the inscriptions of the later Guptas, which are a step forward in the development of the *kuṭila* forms. The Deo-barnark inscription shows a few remarkable forms not seen in the earlier inscriptions. The plates¹ of the time of Śaśāṅka, dated in the (Gupta) year 300 and the Cuttack Museum plates² of Mādhavavarman, dated (Harsha) year 50, are in the style of the seventh century, but the medial vowels used there are not very ornamental.

c15.s2.23

¹ *Epigraphia Indica*, vi. 144–5.

c15.s2.24

² Ibid. xxiv. 151–3.

c15.s2.25

(*e*) Eighth century a.d. (Pl. X. 12). The typical example is the Nalanda stone inscription of Yaśovarman, which marks an advance towards the evolution of proto-Nāgarī. The change is observable in the tails seen in *a*, *i*, *e*, *kha*, *cha*, *ja*, *tha*, *da*, *dha*, *pa*, *ra*, *la*, *va*, *sha*, and *ha*. The medial vowels have become almost standardized, with the exception of *ā* and *o*, which still optionally retain the old forms. In them the blending of the Kushāṇa and the eastern styles is now complete. Easily recognizable Nāgarī forms are *ka*, *kha*, *ga*, *cha*, *ja*, *da*, *na*, *pa*, *la*, *va*, and *sha*, with the only differences that here the head-marks maintain the triangular form and that the right limbs are bent. An important development is seen in *tha*, which makes a definite inner loop at the top of its bulged body and thus disposes of the mid-line. The main difference between this style of writing and the Nāgarī is that this inscription keeps up the taste for ornament, while Nāgarī prefers straight lines, and this style is first seen in Central India.³

c15.s2.26

³ See below, p. 164.

A II. Eastern India

c15.s3.1

As we have seen, the style of this region falls into two sub-sections, (*a*) Bengal, and (*b*) Nepal. We will first deal with Bengal.

(a) Bengal

c15.s3.t1.1

Though the writing style of this region is derived from the Middle Ganges Valley, it has certain characteristic peculiarities. The Kauśāmbī style is seen as early as the Susunia rock inscription of Chandravarman, which is better executed than the Allahabad inscription of Samudra Gupta.⁴ The medial vowel *ā*, applied to the bottom right of *ṇā* in both these inscriptions, survives later only in Bengal, and this practice is further extended to *khā*, *gā*, and *bā*. The twisted slant in the medial vowel *e* and the curled form of the medial *i* appear here from the beginning, suggesting that ornamentation in the medial vowels first appeared in Bengal, and it is not unlikely that this twisting of the medial vowels led subsequently to the bending of the right verticals (i.e. *kuṭila* forms). Another practice already noted in the last chapter is the confusion between *sha* and *sa*, which resulted in the total dropping of the form of *sha* in the fifth-century copper plates of Bengal. Only dental *sa* was used for both. In all subsequent records in Bengal *ksha* is formed by combining *ka* with *sa*. Another confusion arose between *ba* and *va*, both of which are even today pronounced as *ba* in Bengal. This led to the dropping of the form of *ba* from the close of the sixth century onwards. It is probably from this source that similar confusion in these letters spread in the other regions. From the palaeographical point of view it is important to note that the style of Bengal does not have the foot-mark, though influence from the Middle Ganges Valley is clearly seen in the thick heads at the left limb of *ra*, *kha*, *ga*, and *śa*. The letters *bha* and *sa* do not have the solid triangular foot-mark at all. They show directly the open-mouthed triangle at this point, as is seen in *kha* of the Pāla period. The palaeography of this region falls into six chronological groups:

c15.s3.t1.2

⁴ See above, p. 101.

c15.s3.t1.3

(i) Pl. XI. 1 is taken from the Susunia rock inscription of Chandravarman, the palaeography of which has been fully described in the last chapter.¹ It is well executed on stone. The medial vowels, such as *e* and *i*, already show ornamental bending. King Chandravarman is generally identified with his namesake defeated by Samudra Gupta. If this is accepted, the inscription may be taken as the basis for palaeographical study in Bengal. As this inscription has a definite stylistic relation to the next group in Bengal, on palaeographical grounds it may be reasonably placed in the fourth century A.D.

c15.s3.t1.4

¹ See above, p. 101.

c15.s3.t1.5

(ii) Pl. XI. 2 represents the writing in the copper plates of the time of Kumāra Gupta I and Budha Gupta, dated between the (Gupta) years 113 (A.D. 432) and 163 (A.D. 482). The change of the writing material makes for the stylistic difference from (i) above. The Susunia rock style shows firm angular lines but the style as known from these copper plates may be termed ‘fugitive’, implying three things: (i) looseness in drawing the lines on the part of the writer; (ii) a tendency to curve the angles, as in *pa* and *ma*, and (iii) a preference for extremely cursive forms, as in *la* and *ha*. As a result of the first feature the head-mark becomes a mere line. No attempt is made to give the letters their full forms. This defect is obviously due to the metal worker who incised the inscriptions on the plates rather than to the scribe himself. As far as it is possible to get at the latter’s hand, there does not seem to have been any deliberate attempt to deform the letters.

c15.s3.t1.6

The initial vowels *a*, *ā*, *i*, *ī*, and *e* are similar to the forms seen in the Gupta inscriptions of the Middle Ganges Valley. But the base of *u* already has a curve downwards, and an optional form of *e* has an upper stem, as has been noted in the inscriptions of the later Guptas.¹ The difference from the Middle Ganges Valley form is also seen in the medial *o*, as applied to *kho*, *go*, *ṇo*, *bo*, and *yo*, where the right-hand mark is given at the bottom right, as in the case of the medial *ā*. The medial *au*, as applied to *tau*, also shows a variation in so far as the third mid-stroke is actually inclined to the left. The Kushāṇa system of a top slant for the medial *ā* is not found here, but it is seen in the case of the medial *e*. The medial *i* is a curve going to the left, and the medial *ī* has two arms in a curve, the right one longer than the left. There is no change in the other medial vowels. The left limbs of *kha*, *ga*, and *śa* have line heads instead of foot-marks, while the right limbs of *ga*, *ta*, *bha*, and *śa* are longer than the left. *Ka* has the curved mid-bar and *gha* maintains the straight base. *Cha* has pointed as well as rounded beaks. *Ja* has its lower arm slightly bent at the tip. *Ña*, as seen in the conjuncts *ñcha* and *jña*, has already developed the cursive form with three teeth. *Ṭa* flattens its top, and *ḍa* has its back slightly rounded. *Ṇa* is of the open-mouthed type with a loop at the left. *Tha* is oval with a mid-line. *Na* is of the looped variety. *Pa* and *pha* have rounded left angles, while *ba* optionally has a slight bend at the left arm. *Bha* keeps up the angular form. *Ma* has two varieties in the tailed form—in the first the base slopes to the right vertical, thus giving the first example of an acute angle in this letter, while the second is a constricted form in which the base curves upwards and replaces the right vertical. This method is also adopted for drawing the letter *pa*, which gives a shape closer to the later proto-Bengali *pa*. *Ya* is of the tripartite form with a loop at the left arm. *Ra* is a straight vertical. *La* and *ha* are of the hooked type but very cursively drawn, especially in the Baigram plate. In this plate alone we get the letter *ḷa*, of the same form as in the Allahabad inscription. The base of the triangular *va* has already started sloping to the right. As said before, *sha* is replaced by the form of *sa*, and the latter is of the looped variety.

First 92 of 451 passages. Read on

Linked texts (13)